Apache RTR 160 Fi – It’s Pros And Cons

Hi, I have an Apache Fi for the past 1 year, so I would like to share my thoughts and experience about my bike. Apache Fi has both Pros and Cons.

apache rtr fi 160

Pros: It is the fastest bike in its price segment. Though I have not taken my Apache Fi on a long ride, I still have crossed 120kmph many times on my way to my office, and I have topped 125kmph. I have also reached 111kmph in the 4th gear. I believe that my Apache Fi can cross 130kmph if i find a longer road. Apache-Fi can match any bike in 0 to 60kmph timing.

I have personally reached 0 to 60 in 3.9 seconds, and I have heard about some people with even 3.8seconds timing. So you can even keepup with R15 and pulsar 220 up to 85kmph. but after that, the R15 and Pulsar 220 may take over Apache Fi, since those two bikes have higher top speeds (10 to 20kmph). No other bike in India will give the the ADRENALINE RUSH like Apache Fi can!

I have had many duels in this 1 year. I have dueled with pulsar-150, 180, 200, FZ16, CBZ extreme and Karizma. Overtaking Pulsar 150, CBZ Exteme, FZ16 and pulsar 180 are a piece of cake, as long as you sit on an Apache Fi. Once I saw an FZ16 and I went close to him and raised my throttle holding my clutch with the intention of calling him for a duel. First the Yamaha gur raised the throttle and went forward, and after few seconds I started raising my throttle and my bike started catching him effortlessly. Seeing this, the Yamaha rider gave up his battle and started commuting.

Overtaking a Karizma was also not so hare up to the 4th gear. Once, on a duel with a old Karizma (non R version), I tested my relative pickup in 1,2,3,4 and 5th gear. The Karizma struggled to even stay close to my Apache Fi up to the 4 th gear. But in the 5th gear, It matched my bikes performance. May be, he could have overtaken me if the road was longer since the Karizma had higher top speed, but the road was not that long, so I showed hell to that Karizma rider.

And during my race with Pulsar 200, It was very close. Above 50kmph speed, the Pulsar 200 can match my Apache Fi’s performance neck to neck. Though I over took the Pulsar 200 many a times during the battle, I think it was only due to my superior riding skills. But above 100 kmph, the pulsar was able to catch me slowly (inch by inch) even with a pillion on the pulsar’s back. So I believe that Pulsar 200 has better pickup than Apache Fi above 100 kmph. And that’s due to the difference in the torque. while the Pulsar 200 has around 17+nm of torque, my Apache Fi only has 13.1nm of torque.

About the vibration factor: Of course Apache Fi does vibrate between 65 to 75km speed. The vibration was heavy when the bike was new, but the vibration went down with time. But still the vibration is present, I no longer feel it. May be I just got used to it and so I don’t feel it any more. Just like others said, The vibration do make you feel that you are on a very powerful bike. I am getting a mileage of around 45kmpl. I travel around 33km every day in a mixture of by-pass road and city road.

The front petal disk breaks are the sharpest. The suspensions are good (a bit harder than Pulsar’s). The sitting position is sporty. It will give you awkward feeling at first, but after few days of ride, you will hate other sitting positions. The Apache’s rear break lever is the most stylish break lever in India.

Cons: Though Apache Fi has good pickup, it lacks in power, so you will feel a heavy drop in pickup if you have a heavy pillion at the back seat, and that’s due to the Short-Stroke engine, which is good for producing high BHP (15.7 bhp), but poor torque (13.1 nm). Even in windy days, I have felt heavy drop in the pickup. Once on a windy day, My Apache Fi struggled to go beyond 103kmph. Apache Fi is a pure racing breed, so it will perform very well when provided an ideal track condition, but on the roads, its performance is not that great always.

Though the front disk breaks are the best, the rear disk break in Apache Fi is the WORST. The rear disk is worse than the conventional drum breaks. Technically, we don’t need a disk break for the rear tyre on bikes which cannot cross 160kmph. However, the rear disk adds to the style of the bike (2000 Rs extra for rear disk breaks (which is nothing but waste of money). I wonder why TVS engineers, after making an awesome bike like Apache Fi, decided to put the USELESS TVS tires to the bike.

TVS Tyres Suck! With all that great petal front breaks, and useless tyres, which cannot grip the road even in dry condition, you only tend to lose confidence at high speeds. You feel like skating on the ice when you are on wet roads or roads with mud in its top. It would have been great, if TVS had put MRF zappers (tubeless) for the Apache Fi.

Since TVS is new the the Electronic Fuel Injection Technology, the Apache Fi also have some minor problems. My bike tend to lose power around 2500 to 4000 rpm when the engine gets heated. It feels like there is no proper petrol flow to the engine. Though I spoke about it the service mechanics during all my services, They couldn’t rectify the fault. They only try to convince me that there is no such fault at all with the bike.

My Conclusion: I believe that Apache Fi is a good package overall, for the money you pay. Though Apache Fi is not a head turner like FZ-S, it is a good performer. Few years ago, I have seen many people buying Pulsar 150 and attaching it with a very large rear tyre. Though those bikes will struggle to accelerate with those huge tires, they loved it that way. So, now you don’t have to do that any more, because Yamaha has factory fitted their FZ series bikes with 140/60, 100/60 tires. So the FZ series bikes is for those who would love to modify their bikes to look good, but don’t bother much about their performance.

Ofcourse, the performance bikes will never look as good as the cruiser bikes or the choppers or the nacked bikes. Suzuky Hayabusa can not match the Harley Davidson’s V-rod in its look. Apache Fi also does not look as good as FZ’s since Apache Fi is a performer. Apache Fi and FZ are two entirely different type of bikes which are fulfilling what they are meant to do.

Some people prefer FZ to Apache Fi just because FZ belongs to Yamaha. I think that’s completely foolish because, after RX135, the company Yamaha was manufacturing nothing but CRAP bikes (few of those craps are Crus, YBX, Enticer, Gladiator, Fazer-125, etc.). My advice to those people is: appreciate the product for its character, but not for its brand. Hope my review helped atleast few. Thank you friends.

– Pravin
BikeAdvice Reader